In addition to being a famous rock band, the phrase "three dog night" has a story behind it. Supposedly, the band took this name after reading a magazine article about indigenous Australians, in which it was explained that on cold nights they would customarily sleep in a hole in the ground whilst embracing a dingo, a native species of wild dog. On colder nights they would sleep with two dogs and if a night was especially cold, it was a "three dog night".
We have been having a run of "three dog nights" here. A week of temperatures that plummeted to 15 degrees at night and barely crept up to freezing at the height of noon. It hasn't been cold in that sustained kind of way here in 20 years. So of course, even though we tried to prepare, some things just cant be prepared for. They just have to be lived through.
We didn't lose a single animal. From fish to fowl to horse to cow. Every single one did fine. The odds kept sliding from being in our favor to being more out of our control as the days passed however.
On day 6 the coyotes showed up.
The coyotes are hungry too.
This of course kept our dogs very busy. Lots of dashing out in to the night barking.
Two of them never came home till morning where they showed up limping and exhausted.
Beating the coyotes back away from their perimeter.
In the freezing cold.
They had a Three Dog Night.
and the next day when the weather eased its icy grip they were ready to partay (sleep) in the sunshine.
I had to shoot these pictures through my winter frosted living room window because opening a door (or the slightest unusual noise) would have put them back on full "alert"
Blue (the mastiff) is willing to take the first shift of staying awake and alert while the others sleep....
soon it is Emmy's turn to stand guard so Blue can catch some shut eye...
Its just too hard for Emmy and she says "Oh heck - I am fallin for this sunshine, its back to you Blue!"
"Alright fine," says Blue. "Everybody knows I do most of the work around here anyhow..."
But wait! Whats that? His head is up but upon closer inspection....
his head may be up but he is on guard with his eyes closed!
and that my friends, is how you have a Three Dog Day after you have a Three Dog Night~
We have been having a run of "three dog nights" here. A week of temperatures that plummeted to 15 degrees at night and barely crept up to freezing at the height of noon. It hasn't been cold in that sustained kind of way here in 20 years. So of course, even though we tried to prepare, some things just cant be prepared for. They just have to be lived through.
We didn't lose a single animal. From fish to fowl to horse to cow. Every single one did fine. The odds kept sliding from being in our favor to being more out of our control as the days passed however.
On day 6 the coyotes showed up.
The coyotes are hungry too.
This of course kept our dogs very busy. Lots of dashing out in to the night barking.
Two of them never came home till morning where they showed up limping and exhausted.
Beating the coyotes back away from their perimeter.
In the freezing cold.
They had a Three Dog Night.
and the next day when the weather eased its icy grip they were ready to partay (sleep) in the sunshine.
I had to shoot these pictures through my winter frosted living room window because opening a door (or the slightest unusual noise) would have put them back on full "alert"
Blue (the mastiff) is willing to take the first shift of staying awake and alert while the others sleep....
soon it is Emmy's turn to stand guard so Blue can catch some shut eye...
Its just too hard for Emmy and she says "Oh heck - I am fallin for this sunshine, its back to you Blue!"
"Alright fine," says Blue. "Everybody knows I do most of the work around here anyhow..."
But wait! Whats that? His head is up but upon closer inspection....
his head may be up but he is on guard with his eyes closed!
and that my friends, is how you have a Three Dog Day after you have a Three Dog Night~
They are so adorable...I need to learn that sleeping while appearing to be awake thing Blue does! With 4 kids, that would come in very handy at times!!!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear the temps are going up for you! It's a balmy 37 degrees here right now and the snow is melting (much to the chigrin of my 6 yr. old son)! I'm happy to finally see some grass peeking through again. Now, if we could only start seeing some buds on the trees, I'd ba a happy girl! Stay warm, Indie!
Thanks Beth,
ReplyDeleteIt is warmer here but raining (which makes it seem cold somehow)the temps are in the 60s - it could be worse!
Indie